


laughing on the outside

by totallyfxcked



Series: babe, you look so cool [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallyfxcked/pseuds/totallyfxcked
Summary: in which two girls run away and fall in love:)"laughing on the outside/crying on the inside because i'm so in love with you"cheryl x toni





	1. i: the escape

part i : the escape

soundtrack  
laughing on the outside by bernadette carol  
stay cool i'll see you this summer by tullycraft  
say amen (saturday night) by panic! at the disco

\---

the neon lights of the diner sparkled over the bar where cheryl blossom sat, tapping her fingernails in a chaotically organized fashion on the surface before her. the constant tapping repelled any visitors at the restaurant from sitting within spitting distance of the redhead, and that suited her perfectly well.

cheryl wasn't waiting for someone; of course not. she would never be so indiscreet. it would be better to say that she was hoping, hoping that a certain sapphic serpent might just make her acquaintance. every moment her gaze was fixed on the door was not spent in search of the girl; she was simply observing. it was always good to know one's surroundings, wasn't it?

when the bell above the door finally rang, the skip of cheryl's heart was not caused by any sort of interest, no way. it was certainly fear that caused the phenomenon, not love. she pretended to the best of her ability that she couldn't feel the girl's presence, that she couldn't smell her perfume from a mile away.

cheryl intentionally kept her eyes away from the entrance, instead focusing them on the cherry cola resting on the bar in front of her. she knew the girl would be able to see right through her, but she wasn't thinking. she could never think properly when the girl was around: boundaries were forgotten, filters were demolished, stomachs were fluttering...

"hey," her voice said, sweet, intimidating, and enticing all at once.

cheryl wished the girl would say more, that every empty moment she ever experienced would be full of her voice.

"hi," she couldn't bring another word to her red-coated lips, as all the breath had been removed from her lungs.

the girl was standing there in all her glory, and cheryl forgot about discretion. she couldn't help but marvel at her beauty; she wanted to remember this moment forever. she longed to preserve the way her pink curls fell over her shoulders and the way her sugary smile was a deep contrast to the leather jacket she adorned.

cheryl soon realized that the silence between the two girls could be considered awkward and that she had been staring for far longer than considered normal, but who could blame her?

it was impossible not to be in love or lust or whatever this was with the ever-glowing toni topaz.

\---

the walk to pop's was about fifteen minutes, so there must've been something different about the way she walked; she arrived in ten minutes flat.

toni looked through the glass before opening the door, a small smile appearing on her face when she noticed the ever-unique red hair that appeared so often in her head. the girl was looking at the door, her cherry lips between her teeth.

toni never thought she would be able to make cheryl nervous. the thought brought faint blush to her cheeks. she pushed open the door, watching as cheryl pretended she wasn't nervously awaiting toni's arrival.

the bell rang as toni entered the diner, a few eyes turning her direction. none of them were eyes she wanted on her, though. there was really only one person's eyes she wanted on her.

she could hear her heartbeat echoing loudly in her skull, a problem that only occurred when she was afraid. what could she possibly be afraid of?

that this isn't what you think it is.

toni took a deep breath before putting on her trademarked smile and walking over to her girl.

"hey," she said simply, not trusting herself to say more without making a fool of herself.

"hi," cheryl said, her voice quiet and distracted.

it was quite obvious that cheryl was staring, and toni prayed that her blush wasn't bright enough for the girl to notice.

man, was it possible to not feel beautiful under cheryl's amorous gaze?

toni thought not.

\---

"i didn't really expect you to call," toni said, her voice luring cheryl out of whatever trance she might have been under.

"neither did i," cheryl responded, brushing her hair behind her ear; to a passerby, she may have seemed nervous.

"why did you?" toni asked for purposes of interest rather than prying.

cheryl opened her mouth to speak before toni laughed, the sound music to her date's ears.

"that's right; you're cheryl bombshell. you don't need a reason."

cheryl smiled, her cheeks going a color comparable to that of her lips. "i don't need one, but i had one."

toni raised an eyebrow as she slid in the seat next to her, smirking because, as she said before, she could see right through cheryl. "what was it?"

"there are very few people that i take pleasure in talking to, and you just happen to be one of them. congrats! you should feel honored," cheryl declared, the goofy smile on her face indicating the humor behind her statement.

"trust me, blossom, i do." she winked.

cheryl's heart fluttered a bit at the sight, and she covered her growing smile by taking a sip of her cherry cola.

the action caused toni's eyes to drop to cheryl's lips, which left too much to the imagination. toni wondered what they tasted like, how soft they were, how much of that red lipstick would end up on her neck- all the normal thoughts.

"i wish we were anywhere but here," toni declared suddenly, making a conscious effort to remove her gaze from cheryl's lips; she quickly discovered that looking into her eyes instead caused her imagination to run even more wild.

eyes were the key to everything, right? she couldn't see the world in cheryl's eyes, she wasn't psychic; but they sure had her mind going crazy with things that might be.

"if you don't like this place, we can leave-" cheryl said quickly, desperately; the idea of toni leaving after such little time left fear in her heart.

"that's not it at all. it's just so- open," toni said, looking around at all the people, none of whom were looking back at her this time.

she worried mostly for cheryl; that girl really liked to put on a show for the others, and toni didn't want to screw that up for her. all she wished upon cheryl was happiness: nothing more, nothing less.

"oh!" cheryl replied, relief flooding into her countenance through a shaky smile. "i mean, i just... i wanted people to know we were hanging out. i know some of the north-siders aren't treating you guys very well. maybe being seen with me will.. boost your rep! or something. i don't know; it was stupid of me," cheryl said too quickly, laughing awkwardly.

"that's nice of you." toni chuckled bemusedly. "we can stay as long as you'd like."

upon hearing that statement, cheryl stood up, pressing a nearly perfectly flat ten dollar bill to the bar.

"thanks for your service!" she chirped to the bartender, splattering a bright smile onto her face.

with that, she took a deep breath, took toni's hand, and lead her out of the diner.

"you really want to leave so soon?" toni asked, savoring the warmth of cheryl's hand in hers. "we just got there."

"and? i paid ten dollars for a two dollar coke; it's fine," cheryl responded, a reassuring smile on her face. "besides, i finished the drink, and that's all that really matters."

"of course," toni said, a wide smile growing on her face. "where are we going, anyway?"

"don't you like surprises?"

"hate them, actually."

"well, this is a good surprise. there's no need to worry."

toni couldn't bring herself to say no to that bright, excited, and most of all lovely smile of cheryl's. it was sisyphean, she figured, to deny a girl of her charm. cheryl was being herself and was happy about it; toni didn't want to do anything to ruin that.

when they soon arrived at the park, toni couldn't say she was shocked. cheryl had always had an odd sort of appreciation for the elements, especially fire. the stars twinkled in the sky above them, and the only light that guided them on came from the flashlight on cheryl's phone and the moon.

cheryl abruptly stopped walking and plopped on the ground, pulling toni's hand with a wordless command to join her.

"so, good surprise?" cheryl asked, resting her head onto the grass.

her red hair provided a nice, warm contrast from all the dark, cool colors surrounding her; toni was entranced.

"i mean, it's too bad. i thought we were going to go skinny-dipping," toni said, resting her head a bit closer to cheryl's than considered normal; at that moment, neither girl particularly cared about normal.

cheryl laughed, the sound sweet and almost musical. "there's always next time. besides, where in this town would we even go to do that?"

"i don't know, sweetwater?" toni asked, taking a sideways glance at cheryl to measure her response.

cheryl went completely rigid at that, memories of her last moments with her brother and freezing cold water playing through her head. she shook them off quickly, though, covering her fear of the notion with a faux smile.

"that place isn't for me. too many ghosts."

"ghosts?" toni repeated; she must not have known that the river was where so many things had happened. then again, why had cheryl expected her to know?

"this whole town is full of ghosts," cheryl mused, ignoring the implicated question from toni. "everywhere i go. it didn't used to be like this, you know."

"it was worse back then," toni responded, causing cheryl to turn her head and look at her in shock.

"how was it worse? people have died!" her bewilderment was clear by her tone of voice.

"people died back then, too, but everyone pretended like it didn't happen. at least now we're acknowledging it," toni said, cueing a moment of silence between the two girls.

"i hate this town." cheryl muttered, her voice shaky yet honest.

"me too," toni answered.

cheryl hesitated for a moment before speaking again, likely thinking through her next statement carefully; it could change everything.

"then why do we have to stay?"

"what do you mean?" toni asked even though she already knew the answer.

"i mean, let's leave. get out of this deadbeat town that's taken everything from us." cheryl was sitting up now, a gloriously rebellious spark in her eye paired with a magnificently evil grin.

"where would we go?" toni questioned, even though her mind was twirling with images of many possible futures of her and cheryl.

"anywhere we want." if cheryl's mind wasn't set before, it was now. "think about it."

toni didn't have to.

"let's do it. tonight."

"tonight?" cheryl responded, her voice coated with surprise.

"yeah. tonight. all we'd have to do is pack a bag, get some money, get a car, and go."

"you act like that isn't hard. we can't run away on your bike, toni. as much as you would probably like to spend the whole trip with me all pressed up against you as we drove, there'd be no room for our stuff."

toni scoffed, but a smile remained on her face. "i was thinking more... a 1961 chevrolet impala? convertible?"

the corners of cheryl's lips tipped upward. "i didn't think that was your speed."

toni lifted her hands in a faux display of guilt. "hey, it's whatever works for you, cherry bomb."

cheryl giggled for a moment before her face fell. "that's only one out of three. where am i supposed to get the money from? my mom is a bitch, and i don't want her meretrix money."

"well, i'm not exactly bathing in the founding fathers either, sweetheart."

cheryl sighed, furrowing her eyebrows in thought. now, the red-haired girl was not exactly known for having a particularly strong moral compass. maybe that's why her next idea was even considered a viable option.

"i know someone who is."

"who?" toni asked, even though she was relatively certain she knew the answer.

"veronica lodge."

"you really think veronica lodge would just give you a bunch of money for no good reason?"

"well, for one, i think we have a perfectly good reason. also, she doesn't need to give it to us. we can take it from her."

"you want us to rob v? isn't she jughead's friend?" toni wasn't so sure about this plan.

"friend? please. the only thing keeping their every conversation from being a full-on interrogation is betty. they're not friends."

toni nodded. "then it's settled. let's meet at her place at two am. bring your bags and your car."

"see you then."

\---

veronica didn't think she would ever get used to how good archie was at kissing her. if she valued that a bit more than some of their quote-unquote intelligent banter, who could blame her? she was in love with the feel of him and in love with the loyalty he possessed, so it wasn't like she was lying to him every single time the words "i love you" passed through her lips.

she was sitting in front of the fire place with archie andrews' lips against her neck at two in the morning; she wondered briefly how life could get any better than this. at least, that was until someone knocked on the door.

"do you want me to get that?" archie asked, puffing out his chest and putting a worried facade on his face; my oh my, she thought. he was born to play the role of protective boyfriend.

"that's okay, archiekins. i've got this." she picked up her raven black nightgown from where it had been resting on the ground and slipped it back on before flashing a seductive smile his way.

the swagger with which she sashayed towards the front door exuding confidence; she has the authority to act like she owned the place, so she used it. she wasn't afraid, and things might've been better if she was.

she swung open the door, and there stood cheryl, her trademarked smile on her lips and mischievous glint in her eye.

"cheryl? what are you doing here? it's like, two in the morning," veronica stated the obvious, as usual.

"i need some money," cheryl said, tilting her head to the side.

veronica laughed for a minute, her smile fading when she realized cheryl wasn't kidding. "doesn't your mom have money? what do you need mine for?"

cheryl shrugged. "why does it matter?"

veronica rolled her eyes, beginning to close the door. however, cheryl stuck her foot in the way.

"i wouldn't do that if i were you."

"oh really?" veronica said, sounding skeptical. "and why not?"

"because i'm sure poor pop tate's mom really doesn't want to hear that your daddy is now the proud owner of pop's."

veronica's jaw dropped, and she opened the door wider. "be quiet! how did you hear about that?"

"gossip spreads around riverdale faster than the plague spread through europe. also, i may have been present for a very private conversation between one jughead jones and pop tate. and unlike jughead, i won't keep the truth to myself in order to keep someone happy. so, give me the money, or i'll tell the whole school."

veronica blinked in shock and nodded slowly. "let me think about it for a minute. come on in."

"okay!" cheryl said; she knew how this was going to go. "come on in, toni!"

"toni?" veronica exclaimed.

toni stepped forward from where she stood behind cheryl. "hey, lodge."

"why are you doing this, cheryl?" veronica asked as she lead the two girls past a very confused-looking archie.

"i told you, v, we need money and you're the richest, most easily-manipulated person that i know."

"i thought we were friends."

cheryl shrugged. "only when you needed me for something or when you were trying to prove that, oh, i'm not the same bitch i was in new york! i'm nice now! thing."

toni chuckled quietly as veronica headed over to a safe in the corner of her room. she kept a few thousand dollars in there in case of emergency.

she turned the dial a few times and opened it up to reveal tons of cash.

"whoa," toni said as a wide grin grew on cheryl's face.

"this is all i've-"

"yeah, yeah, sugar. give me the money."

veronica clamped her mouth shut and nodded before handing the cash to cheryl, who proceeded to stuff it in her duffel bag.

"thanks so much, ronnie!" cheryl started to exit before turning dramatically back to her ex-friend. "if you tell anyone we were here, every secret i know about you and your family is out for the world! do what you think is right."

cheryl took a hold of toni's hand and lead her out of the house, giving archie a cheerful wave on her way to the door.

\---

cheryl was high off adrenaline as she turned the keys in the ignition of her car.

"that was so cool," toni said, leaning back against the headrest in the passenger's seat.

"i know. i can't believe she handed it over so easily," cheryl laughed. "that was... fun."

"hopefully not too much fun. that cash'll tide us over until we're able to get jobs in.. wherever we're going."

cheryl frowned; working was not what she had in mind for her little trip with toni. "really?"

"yeah. now let's go before little miss lodge changes her mind and calls the police," toni said, shooting a reassuring smile cheryl's way.

"she won't. she's too attached to me," cheryl explained. "she's confident that one of these days i'm going to 'redeem myself' or some crap. i don't need redemption. she could never get that through that thick skull of hers."

toni nodded slowly, remaining silent.

"hey, can we stop at pop's before we go? his milkshakes were the only thing that redeemed this town," cheryl mentioned casually, as if she hadn't just blackmailed veronica.

"of course. we should probably get some food, too."

"good idea."

it was quiet for a second before cheryl spoke up again.

"so, we've got the clothes, the car, and the money. that's all we need, right?"

"yeah. that's all. we're home free."

"okay."

with that, they drove away, never to return to the abominable town of riverdale.


	2. important

This story is being rewritten!  
This work will be deleted very soon, so go check out the [rewrite](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17826188):)  
Thanks a bunch!


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